Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand


PETAR: geography, contradictions and development

Full text
Author(s):
Marcelo Reis Nakashima
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Doctoral Thesis
Press: São Paulo.
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Jose Pereira de Queiroz Neto; John Christopher Brown; Angela Maria Endlich; Maria Eugenia Moreira Costa Ferreira; Fernando Nadal Junqueira Villela
Advisor: Jose Pereira de Queiroz Neto
Abstract

This research addressed the issue of the social and economic development of the Upper Ribeira State Tourist Park (PETAR), in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, from a geographic study conducted under the light of the analytical triad GTL: Geosystem, Territory and Landscape. Based on this geographical analysis, it was possible to identify how the potentialities and fragilities of the physical environment influenced the territorialization of the region where the park is today, and how the cultural landscape is built on this reality. Thus, it was possible to counter the interpretation of the data collected with the proposed Management Plan for PETAR in 2010, which has been under analysis by the State Environmental Council of the state of São Paulo since that year. The document presents internal contradictions regarding the exploitation of mineral resources. With the approval of State Law 16.260 / 2016, which grants 25 conservation units for the exploitation of the private initiative, it is necessary that there are no obscure points in the Management Plan so it is clear which resources may or may not be exploited. There are indications that, in this process, economic interests overshadowed both the objective of preserving the area and that of socioeconomic development. With this problematic in focus, we discuss how Geography and the sciences, in general, can be useful to the civilizational process by establishing objective ethical criteria, thus pointing to the causes of regional problems related to territorialization, the political contradictions of this process and how it would be possible to promote socio-environmental development in the region. One of the main problems raised is the issue of the restrictions on economic activities imposed by the environmental legislation. With tourism as the only possible source of income, the region has become highly dependent on income transfer programs which, in recent years, have proved to be crucial for the reduction of extreme poverty and the improvement of the human development indexes in the area. Since a significant relaxation of environmental restrictions would be inadvisable, and considering that the area of the park has historically been occupied by traditional populations such as quilombola communities, we have concluded that it would be reasonable to demand financial compensation from the state. This would prevent the local population from paying, alone, for the costs of an environmental conservation, that is in the best interest of society, as a whole. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 13/24595-3 - Dynamics and landscape evolution in Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira
Grantee:Marcelo Reis Nakashima
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate